Various different forms of catheters and drain tubes are conventionally inserted into a patient's body and must remain therein for indeterminant lengths of time. However, movement of a patient within a bed and disturbance of the patient by nurses or other hospital personnel may cause a catheter or drain tube to be shifted longitudinally relative to the site through which the catheter or tube enters the patient's body. Although a catheter or drain tube may be taped in position, it is sometimes necessary to temporarily remove and subsequently re-install a catheter or drain tube. This of course would result in the re-installed catheter or drain tube having to be re-taped in position and the re-taping as well as the initial taping of a catheter or drain tube in place can cause considerable discomfort to the patient. Accordingly, a need exists for structure by which a catheter or drain tube may be frictionally retained in position against longitudinal displacement relative to the associated exit site and wherein that structure may be anchored to a patient adjacent the exit site in a manner which does not cause skin discomfort.
Examples of various different forms of positioners or anchor structures including some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,998,225, 2,133,130, 2,898,917, 3,893,446 and 4,040,428. However, these previously known devices are either not as efficient as or more cumbersome, complex and more expensive than the instant invention.